Blogs from Lai Chau , Northwest, Vietnam, Asia

12-13th December We took the night bus from Hanoi at 10am and arrived at Sapa to meet our guide at 4am, the bus was full of people going to do the trekking so unlike most buses no locals, a better atmosphere. Most slept through the journey, but I'm sure there was a manage trios going on at the back. You have no idea what is going on the buses as limited English, as we pulled up in pitch black I realised we were an hour and half early so got some sleep. When the guides arrive there's a quick scuffle as you change and wet wipe and even clean you're teeth and start to trek with a bunch of strangers. All part of the fun We met our guide pang pang, 33 years old with 3 ... read more

Friday night was certainly not my best night for sleep. The overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa groaned, creaked and jolted it's way through the night, finally arriving in Lao Cai two hours late, at 7.30am. Lao Cai is the capital of Lao Cai Province and shares the border with the city of Hekou, in the Yunnan province of Southwest China. I had already paid for a private transfer to Sapa, about 32klm away, and the driver was waiting outside the main exit of the railway station with his sign. Once again he was a Trails of Indochina Tours representative and he had a good vehicle for the hour long trip and we wasted no time in getting on the road. I was dropped at the door of Family Guesthouse in Sapa, my accomodation for the ... read more

19 Sep to 26 Sep 2012 – I was back to Lai Châu province. I just visited this province a couple of months ago and it was my first ever visit to the 60th province of Vietnam in my list. When I was in Lai Châu last July, it rained all the time, so I couldn’t go to Mường Tè, although I already saw the bus going on the route. I decided I would go back on my next trip to the North West. Mường Tè was my priority destination on this trip. Whenever the Vietnamese say “Mường Tè”, it always means a place far away in the mountain which is very poor and remote, although it’s located only 620km northwest of Hanoi. The travel companion and I went to the bus station at 5:30am, but ... read more

This is Part 3 of my 7-day solo trip in the North West of Vietnam by local bus and motorbike. Wednesday afternoon (July 18) - I missed the bus from Mù Cang Chải to Than Uyên at 12am and another bus would come 4 hours later. After waiting for a couple of hours, I decided it was enough and I would travel by motorbike (40km). The landscape on the way was so beautiful as I was passing by mountain rainges, terraced rice fields and houses of the H’mong ethnic minority people. I also saw waterfalls and streams going down from the mountains. When I got to the end of Mù Cang Chải district area, I saw a board with the words “Lai Châu”. It was an emotional moment because Lai Châu was the 60th province in ... read more

March 21 So I arrived to Lao Chai this morning and after the mayhem of getting a mini bus to Sapa(many drives different prices depending on your barging.) I was crowded by people leading me to their hotel. I checked a few out before I found a sweet cheap place and awesome view of the valley. When I was being lead to the hotel a local village woman began to follow us and talk to me a little. These local women are all over the place selling things. Anyway, I went in the hotel for at least 1/2 hr and when I came out she was there waiting. I think she wanted to lead/follow me to her village. But I didn't want to trek today, I just wanted to check out the town n the radio ... read more